Mark
Guerrero grew up in East Los Angeles graduating from James
A. Garfield High School, East L.A. College, and Cal State L.A.,
where he earned a B.A. in Chicano Studies. The son of
the late legendary singer/songwriter Lalo Guerrero began performing
at age 13 with his rock band Mark & the Escorts, who often
shared the bill with storied eastside groups such as Cannibal
& the Headhunters, the Premiers, the Blendells, and Thee Midniters.
His band was included on the album "West Coast Eastside Revue,"
along with the aforementioned groups and others. Mark &
the Escorts also recorded two 45 rpm singles in 1965 on GNP
Crescendo Records, "Get Your Baby" and "Dance With Me."
(Mark & the Escorts live on since they've been included on five compilation CDs, featured
or mentioned in seven books, and done reunion shows at garage rock/exotica and
"Eastside Sound" events.) Mark then
led the East L.A. group the Men From S.O.U.N.D., who
were very popular but never made a record. In the late
60s, Mark led a band called Nineteen Eighty-Four who recorded
two singles, "Three's a Crowd" and "No Matter How Long It Takes"
on Kapp Records, an MCA label. At the age of 21 Mark wrote and recorded his first
solo single
called "Lila, Love Me Tonight" with legendary producer Lou Adler of the Mamas and the Papas and Carole
King fame. His recording career continued with two singles
on Capitol Records as a solo artist in 1972, "Rock &
Roll Queen" and "I'm Brown," and an album and
single for
A&M Records in 1973-74 with his group Tango, which was re-released
on CD in Japan in 1990.
Mark's "Pre-Columbian
Dream" was recorded by Herb Alpert on the 1983 album
"Noche de Amor" and his "Fernando, El Toro,"
a tribute to Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela, was recorded
by his father. The latter song was used twenty years
later on an ESPN documentary on Fernando called "Fernandomania." The two Guerrero's collaborated on numerous songs recorded
by the elder songwriter and Mark has written and performed
songs featured in the television productions, "Murals
of Aztlán," about L.A.'s Chicano muralists, and "L.A.:
An Artist's View," which profiled L.A.'s artists for
the city's bicentennial. Both programs included segments
on legendary Chicano artist, Carlos Almaraz. In 1989,
Mark recorded and co-produced an E.P. entitled "On The
Boulevard," which was released on the Eastside Landmark
label and contained four Mark Guerrero original songs. In 1992, Mark wrote and performed tribute songs for Carlos Almaraz at the Bing Theater at the L.A. County Museum,
and for his father, Lalo Guerrero, at his tribute concert
at the McCallum Theater in Palm Desert, California.
Other guests at the Guerrero event included Edward James Olmos,
Cheech Marin, Paul Rodriguez, and Cesar Chavez.
In 1994, Mark
co-produced an album entitled "Fifties Flashback"
with pioneer Chicano rocker Chan Romero, whose song "The
Hippy Hippy Shake" can be heard on the Beatles' "Live
at the BBC" album. Mark has recorded with Harry
Nilsson, backed rock & roll hall of famer Eric Burdon
in a live concert, and participated on Los Lobos' 1994 Grammy
nominated "Papa's Dream" L.P. In 1998, he
performed with his father and Tex Mex legend Flaco Jimenez
at the Cite de la Musique in Paris, France, which was followed
by a series of about a dozen concerts with Lalo between 1998
and 2000. Highlights in this series of concerts included
performances at the Getty Center in Los Angeles and in Lalo's
hometown of Tucson, Arizona. Two of Mark's recordings,
"On the Boulevard" and "Rosalie,"
were included on the "Chicano Alliance" CD in 1998,
which also includes tracks by Tierra, El Chicano, Malo, Little
Joe, and others. In 2002, Mark started a new band as
a vehicle for his original material called Mark Guerrero &
Radio Aztlán. They performed at the Galaxy Theater in
Santa Ana, CA and The Hop in Puente Hills, CA on the bill
with Malo and Tierra, as well as a concert at La Placita
Village in Tucson, AZ. In 2003, they performed again
in Tucson and at the Gene Autry Museum in Los Angeles with
Thee Midniters. The latter concert was to publicize
the upcoming documentary "Chicano Rock: The Sounds
of East Los Angeles,"
in which Mark appears. Subsequently, Mark Guerrero &
Radio Aztlán performed at venues such as the John Anson
Ford Amphitheater, the Latin Oldies Festival at Arrowhead
Stadium in San Bernardino, the Grand Ballroom of the Kodak
Theater in Hollywood, the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, AZ, the
Fox Theater in Tucson, AZ, and the L.A. County Museum of Art.
In 2003
and again in 2009 and 2010,
Mark Guerrero performed as a member of the legendary Native
American/Chicano band, Redbone of "Come and Get Your Love"
fame. In 2004, two of Mark's
songs were recorded by legendary Chicano singers: "Oh
Maria" by Trini Lopez and "Rockin' Like There's
No Tomorrow" by Chan Romero. Mark played lead guitar
on the recordings of both songs. In 2004 and 2006, Mark
visited Liverpool, England and performed at several venues,
including the legendary Cavern Club, with Liverpool musicians
from the Beatle era, including Kingsize Taylor & the Dominoes
and members of Faron's Flamingos and the Undertakers. In 2007, Mark performed with El Chicano at the Gibson Amphitheater
in Studio City, CA on the bill with War, Tierra, Little Joe
y La Familia, and Los Lobos for a benefit to help rebuild
the auditorium for his alma mater Garfield High School in
East Los Angeles. In 2010, he played the same venue and at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California with El Chicano.
Mark Guerrero
is mentioned or featured in "The Folk Music Sourcebook," published
by Alfred A. Knopf (1976); "Barrio Rhythm" by Steven Loza, University of Illinois Press (1993),
"Riot On the Sunset Strip" by Dominic Priore, Jawbone Press
(2007), "Mexican-American Mojo" by Anthony Macias, Duke
University Press (2008), "Land of a Thousand Dances:
Chicano Rock & Roll From Los Angeles" by
Tom Waldman and David Reyes, University of New Mexico Press
(1998), and "Mexican-Americans In Los Angeles" by Alex
Moreno Areyan, Arcadia Publishing (2010). He's also featured in and wrote and compiled
the discography for "Lalo, My Life and Music," by
Lalo Guerrero and Sherilyn Meece Mentes, University of Arizona
Press (2002). Mark also hosts a popular website, markguerrero.com,
which gives information on his music, as well as Chicano
music in general. The articles he's written on Chicano
music artists have also appeared in various websites,
newspapers, and magazines, including "Traditional Music
Maker" in England. Mark has spoken at colleges,
museums, and other venues on Chicano music and wrote an
entry on the same subject for the two volume "Encyclopedia
of Latino Popular Culture," published by Greenwood
Publishing Group (2004). In 2006, Mark hosted his own
internet radio show, "Chicano
Music Chronicles" on crnlive.com. He did shows on Trini Lopez,
Chan Romero, El Chicano, Tierra, and many others, with the
artists in studio. Mark
was music supervisor and provided his song "The Ballad
of Lalo Guerrero" for a documentary on his father called
"Lalo Guerrero, the Original Chicano." The
documentary, produced by his brother Dan, aired on PBS in
the fall of 2006.
In
2007, Mark was a consultant and served on the advisory board
for the Experience Music Project, a major museum in Seattle,
Washington. He provided artifacts and interviewed
a dozen Chicano musical artists for an exhibit at the museum
called "American Sabor: Latinos is U.S. Popular
Music," which opened in October of 2007 and ran for
several years on a tour of museums culminating at the
Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. The
interviews are now a part of a permanent oral history
archive at the Experience Music Project. Mark was also interviewed for
the archive. In 2008-09, Mark's Capitol record "I'm
Brown," along with his original lyric manuscript, were
featured in the Grammy Museum in an exhibit called "Songs of Conscience, Sounds
of Freedom." Mark appeared in the documentary "Chicano Rock: The Sounds
of East Los Angeles," which premiered on PBS nationally in
December of 2008. He also performed and was a talent
coordinator on a PBS special "Trini Lopez Presents Latin
Music Legends," which aired in June of 2009. Mark
sang his dad's "Los Chucos Suaves" backed by Tierra on the
show. In
February of 2009, Mark reunited his teenage band Mark & the
Escorts to perform at "Blowout 2009" on a bill with 13
bands. In April of 2009, Mark reunited his 70s band
Tango to perform at East Los Angeles College for an event
celebrating the new edition of the book "Land of a Thousand
Dances" by David Reyes and Tom Waldman.
In 2010, Mark performed concerts with the Cannibal
& the Headhunters Band, Redbone, and his own Mark Guerrero band. With the Cannibal & the Headhunters Band, Mark performed on a PBS special
taped in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the bill with Question Mark & the Mysterians,
Paul Revere & the Raiders, Davey Jones of the Monkees, and
others. Also with the Headhunters he backed Denny Laine (Wings, Moody Blues), Joey
Molland (Badfinger), Terry Sylvester (Hollies), Dennis Tufano (Buckinghams),
and Sonny Geraci (Outsiders, Climax) on a tour called Retrorock. In
2009 Mark performed with Redbone in Sacramento, CA and in 2010
in El Paso, Texas. Also,
in 2010, Mark performed with his own band at Fiesta Days in Palm
Springs, California on the bill with Malo, El Chicano, Tierra,
and The Blazers. He also performed solo in Santa Fe, New
Mexico, where he did a concert consisting of Mark and Lalo
Guerrero songs. In 2011, Mark &
the Escorts reunited twice more to perform at the legendary
Paramount Ballroom in East Los Angeles on the bill with the
Premiers, Chan Romero, the Salas Brothers, and the
Heartbreakers, and at Tiki Oasis, a garage rock/exotica event in
San Diego, California. The same year Mark performed his
song "Whitewash," a song about the whitewashing of a mural by
Mexican muralist David Alfaro Siqueiros in 1932, at an exhibit
of the artists work at the Autry Center in Los Angeles.
In 2012,
Mark performed as a special guest at a concert following the
last night of the musical play "Evangeline, The Queen of Make
Believe," which was co-written by Louie Perez of Los Lobos. Mark also performed on the bill with Salvador Santana, the son
of Carlos Santana, in East Los Angeles and performed his song
"The Ballad of Carlos Almaraz" at an exhibit of the late
artist's work at the Vincent Price Museum at East Los Angeles
College. Mark also did three videos of his songs directed
by Chicano filmmaker/activist Jesus Treviño. In 2013, Mark
did two more reunion shows with Mark & the Escorts, one at
"Blowout 2013" in Burbank, CA and at a benefit for Norton
Records at the Echo in Los Angeles. Mark also did
lecture/performances in tribute to his father at Arte Americas
in Fresno, CA and at the Nile in Bakersfield, CA. He also
performed at a tribute to Ritchie Valens in Santa Fe Springs
with Chan Romero, and others. In December 2013, Mark performed an acoustic and electric set at
his alma mater Cal State Los Angeles. In 2014, Mark did
lecture/performances at Cal State San Bernardino and Ohio State
University. He was also prominently featured in the books
"Turn Up the Radio: Rock, Pop, and Roll in Los Angeles
1956-1972" and "It Was Twenty Years Ago: The Beatles Invade
America and Hollywood," both by Harvey Kubernik. In
2015, Mark was interviewed in Delano, CA for a documentary on
the relationship of music and the farmworker's movement of Cesar
Chavez in the 1960s, taught a class on the history of the
Beatles for the Osher Program at Cal State San Bernardino, Palm
Desert campus, his internet radio show, "Chicano Music
Chronicles" was brought back, and Mark was quoted in "Neil
Young- Heart of Gold" by Harvey Kubernik. In 2016,
Mark performed, backed by Los Nawdy Dawgs, at "Lalopalooza" in
Tucson, Arizona commemorating the 100th anniversay of his
father's birth, Ry Cooder, Ersi Arvisu, and others
performed. Mark also began work with Piero Giunti on a
photo/video history project called "A Great Day In East L.A." In 2014, East L.A.'s legendary doo wop duo, The 'Heartbreakers, recorded and released Mark's song "Baby I Love You So."
In 2017,
Mark did a presentation of "The History Of Chicano Rock" at Cal
State San Bernardino's Palm Desert campus. He also
participated in a panel discussion
for the
National Association of Chicana and Chicano Studies conference
in Irvine, Californiaon
Chicano music in East L.A. in the 1960s and the effect the war
in Viet Nam had on the music scene.He also contributed four
pages to the book "Come and Get Your Love- a Celebratory Ode to
Redbone" by Pat Vegas where he recounts his experience playing
with the band and gives his opinion of their importance and
place in rock history. Mark also contributed a piece to
the book "Playing with Fire- The Paintings of Carlos Almaraz." Mark's first recording "Get Your Baby" with his teenage
band Mark & the Escorts appeared in a major motion picture,
"Logan Lucky," starring Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, and Katie
Holmes, directed by Steven Soderbergh.
In 2018,
Mark made four videos with videographer Tony Reyes. All
four songs were from Mark's 60s and 70s catalog. Mark and Chan Romero went to Liverpool, England
(Mark's 3rd trip there), where they performed in four venues in
three nights, did a BBC Merseyside radio show, and participated
in a panel discussion/performance at the British Music
Experience museum. Mark contributed to three books; "King
Kong Pete," about Redbone's original drummer Pete DePoe, "The
Doors: Summer's Gone" by Harvey Kubernik, and "Long Promised
Road: Carl Wilson, Soul of the Beach Boys" by Kent Crowley. In 2019, Mark taught a class, "The History of The Beatles," for the
second time at Cal State San Bernardino, Palm Desert campus. The students of Shadow Ridge School in Hisperia, CA illustrated
a book based on the lyrics of a Mark Guerrero song, "Face and
Heart," a song about the Aztecs teaching of their young. Mark continued to work on the "A Great Day In East L.A." project
and do his radio show, "Chicano Music Chronicles," which is now
a podcast on Mark Guerrero Radio at
markguerrero.podbean.com. Some of his recent guests
include Louie Perez of Los Lobos, Lonnie Jordan of War, Pat
Vegas of Redbone, and Chris Montez.
In 2019,
Mark was interviewed about the "Eastside Sound" at the Boyle
Heights Arts & History Studios in East Los Angeles, the Lyceum
Theater in San Diego at an event preceding a performance of the
musical play "33 1/3 House of Dreams," which is the story of
legendary Gold Star Studios and the hit music that was recorded
there, and at the headquarters of NAMM (National Association of
Music Merchants) about his career and East L.A. and Chicano rock
history. Mark also started a second radio show on Mark
Guerrero Radio at
markguerrero.podbean.com called "Rock Doc Chronicles," on
which his guests so far have been folk music legend Ramblin'
Jack Elliot and British rocker Terry Reid. Mark
continued performing solo, with the Mark Guerrero Band, and
doing lecture/performances at universities and other
venues.
In 2020,
Mark did a lecture on "The History of Chicano Rock" and a six week course, "Bob Dylan: The Man and His
Music" at Cal State San Bernardino, Palm Desert campus, for the Osher Long Life Learning Institute. He was also a special
guest singer at a tribute concert to his late father, Lalo
Guerrero, at Wang's of the Desert in Palm Springs, CA backed by a
eight-piece band, The Reckless Night Ensemble, led by Skip Heller and Nick Ornelas. He sang lead on his dad's "Me Gusta El Cha Cha Cha," which
appeared on an album and vinyl single release by The Reckless
Night Ensemble. Also, a CD by Andy Tesso and the Rockers was released with three
of Mark's songs, "Baby I Love You So," "Rockin' Like There's No
Tomorrow," and "Meet Me On the Other Side." Andy Tesso is
a pioneer guitarist of the "Eastside Sound" as a member of the
Romancers and the Mixtures.
In 2021,
Mark performed four Lalo Guerrero songs at Sonido del Barrio in
East L.A. with Orquestra Rene led by Skip Heller. He also
performed at a Trini Lopez tribute show at the Rockstar in Las
Vegas, Nevada on the anniversary of Trini's passing. Mark
also sang harmony with Tish Hinojosa on lead vocal on the classic
Rene & Rene song "Angelito" on an EP called "Orquestra
Rene- The Singles" and lead vocals on four of his
dad's songs on an E.P. backed by The Reckless Night
Ensemble entitled "Legacy: Mark Guerrero Sings Lalo Guerrero. Mark also did Mark Sings Lalo shows in Glendale, CA, San Diego,
and at the Palm Springs Agua Caliente Casino.
In 2022, Mark's song and recording, "I'm Brown" was featured for the second time at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles in the exhibit "Songs of Conscience Sounds of Freedom." He also participated in a panel discussion and musical performance in the Clive Davis Theater at the Grammy Museum. Other participants included Little Willie G and Geree Gonzalez, and Art Brambila. Mark also was on a panel at a screening of the documentary, "Song for Cesar," about the music of the farmworkers movement of Cesar Chavez which took place at UC Riverside. Also on the panel were the director Abel Sanchez and activist Dolores Huerta. Mark also had an EP released in CD and vinyl, "Legacy: Mark Guerrero Sings Lalo Guerrero."
In 2023, Mark performed at a concert for the 50th Anniversary of UMAS (United Mexican Ameican Students) at Cal State Los Angeles with Greg Esparza, Geree Gonzalez, Trio Califas, and Lysa Flores.
He also performed solo and with his brother Dan at a screening of a documentary about their father, "Lalo Guerrero: The Original Chicano" at the Coachella Valley Repetory Theater. Mark also performed his father Lalo's music with Skip Heller and The Reckless Night Ensemble in Tucson, Arizona in the Century Room at the historic Hotel Congress and in Los Angeles at Hello Stranger in Little Tokyo. He also taught classes, "Bob Dylan: The Man and His Music" and "The History of The Beatles" for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Cal State San Bernardino and UC Riverside, both Palm Desert campuses. Mark was also on a panel on Chicano Music History at Berkeley City College put on by Freight and Salvage and spoke to students at Pasadena City College on behalf of the Harvard Latino Alumni Alliance. He also performed as a guest with Los Lobos on three consecutive shows, two in East Los Angeles venues and one at the legendary Whiskey a Go Go in Hollywood. He also releaseed a new EP, "Southwest Serenade: A Journey Through Aztlán."
In 2024, Mark is working on a museum exhibit, "A Great Day in East L.A.," which will open in June of 2025. It's a multi-media survey of the history of East L.A. rock from the 50s to the present. He's also working on a recording project with his former manager Art Brambila, a song Art wrote about the music of the 60s in East L.A. called "The Stars of East L.A." Mark also shot a video for a song from his latest EP called "The Streets of East L.A. It's the third video from the EP, "Southwest Serenade." Mark also performed at a celebration of life event for the late rock pioneer Chan Romero.
